Next Generation: Flock to the Max
by Katiebell17
Summary: 26 years after the original Flock,new Flock is born under the ambitious Dr. Guinar. His experiments don't turn out perfect, so he strives to perfect them with more treatments and modifications. When encouraged my Maximum Ride, Kaleigh and her flock escape
1. Intro

May 6, 2009

From the journal of Dr. Gremmian Guinar:

I am ready to begin my endeavor of perfection tomorrow. After researching many projects over the years (including the most helpful one: the creation of the original Flock), I will at last be able to do what I've watched other scientists do over the years. At last, I, Dr. Gremmian Guinar will create a super-flock. This will amaze the world and will become a legendary feat that will be admired for generations to come.

Of course, I must give some credit to my assistant, Dr. Osric Holcombe. He was able to pull many records for me of experiments that were beyond top secret. Records thought to have been destroyed over three years ago. Yes, his connections with Genetix Corp., T.A.G, and other genetic research institutions including the famous ITEX have shown to be extremely useful.

10 years ago, he traveled to all corners of the world from Japan and Mexico to Australia, England, and South Africa. Angel-like experiments were conducted in those places, although, none of their creations were successful. Dr. Holcombe noted that they tried too hard too quickly without knowing exactly what they were getting into. Nonetheless, he says they will prove very useful for our project.

Last year, Dr. Holcombe resigned from assistant chief of Genetix Corp. due to increasingly widespread rumors that he was being inhumane and that he had no concern whatsoever about the ethics of genetic engineering. He now has more time to focus on my goals and will make himself more useful to me.

I am pleased now that all of the research is complete. I will not make the same mistakes as all of the other labs across the globe did. My creations will survive. They won't experience the mental or physical drawbacks either. My creations will show the world the true definition of perfection.

Unlike last time I tried, these beings will be a victory and will make me rich and successful. Last time on the "Dragon kids" I overlooked the simplest things. But that will not happen this time. I am older, I am smarter, I am experienced, and Dr. Holcombe shows no signs of incompetence like my last assistant. For good ol' Dr. Abbello put the _ass_ back in assistant.

Yes, the next time I write in this journal, I will write with the sensation of triumph, not defeat. When I write next time, I will cry tears of joy and elation, not tears of sorrow. Next time I read this page from my records I will look back knowing the results of my project came out better than I could have imagined in my wildest of fantasies.

It is foolproof. After eleven years of research, nothing can go wrong. Dr. Holcombe insists that I am striving to do just what I could do, and not what I should do. But he'll see. In three years when I accept my Nobel Prize, yes, in three years when I'm on the cover of every magazine, and in three years when I am the world's most renowned scientist, no one, not even Dr. Holcombe will be in the reach to question my practices.

Well, I have to get up early tomorrow. Dr. Holcombe will open the revised lab at 5:00 A.M. for the unveiling. Until later, the great, the wonderful, the quite handsome,

_**Dr. G. Guinar**_


	2. Sweet 16

16 years later…

"Kaleigh!" I yawned. I was having a dream in which I was in a small, wooden raft. I was going white-water rafting across a river with a violent current and I was having the time of my life.

"Hey Kaleigh!" The sound that had seemed so distant was now becoming clearer. The once vivid sensory of the raft tossing around the water was no a very faint background. "Hey Kaleigh, wake up and smell the coffee!" Before I could process what was being said, I felt a blast of hot liquid splash onto my head. I let out a high-pitched scream. I was definitely awake. I opened my eyes wide open, sat up, and wiped the coffee out of my hair. "Kyle." I started. Laughing uncontrollably, Kyle managed to let out: "That was totally awesome. You should've seen your face. Oh man, that was good!"

"Kyle." I started again. "You- are- so- DEAD!" With hot coffee still dripping down my arms, I immediately got up and started to chase him around my room. "What in the world is your problem you stupid- stupid- stupid face?!"

"Stupid face? Oh boo hoo, I'm so upset. How could you be so cruel, oh how?" I rolled my eyes. "You couldn't hold off, not even on my birthday. You just couldn't resist, huh?" Kyle smiled. "Hey, don't forget, it's my birthday too. I had to do it to celebrate. It was my well-deserved present to myself."

"You ruined my birthday morning. My sweet 16. Well, you know what; I can ruin your birthday too. That's the beauty of being twins!" I grabbed my flattening iron and started swinging it around. I'll hit you with this!" Kyle grabbed it from my hands, turned around, and grabbed the pair of scissors on my desk. "I will cut the cord. Then bye-bye flat iron, welcome back poodle-head." "Drop it. NOW!" A devious smile spread across his face. I knew that smile oh too well. "You wouldn't." Kyle's smile grew bigger and bigger. "Why wouldn't I? Because you'll hurt me?" I nodded. "You're damn right, I will." Kyle shrugged and dropped the straightening iron.

"Oh, by the way, you and Guinar's son, totally not working out." Stammering I managed, "I- I don't know what you're talking about."

"_Oh Fabian, oh Fabian, how I love it how your lovely blond hair moves in the light breeze of a warm summer's evening_." Kyle mocked. I felt my face grow hot. Whenever I was embarrassed, my face turned bright red. I absolutely hated it and Kyle knew it. There was nothing I could do to stop it and Kyle knew exactly how to make me blush and of course to make it even worse.

"Jeez, you're face is redder than the ketchup stain on Orson Wells's face when we got into a food fight back in the sixth grade." I smiled. "Oh you mean the week you got suspended. Oh yeah, a whole week without you in school. My goodness I think the school had parties all that week. What did we call it the 2nd Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, that must've been the day you first fell eyes on Guinar's son when he made a sudden appearance back into his life. After being through so much he finally got to meet his father for the first time and live within 3 miles him and of course you. So delicate yet so conflicted." Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out my diary. "Missing something?" It was the diary that I had kept since the fifth grade. The book in which I wrote my poems and entrusted the secrets which I could tell no one else in my brother's hands.

"You son of a bit- bit early for you to be up, Leila." I missed the days when Leila's eyes opened wide in shock. Now she was used to it and it didn't even make a point for her to respond to our profanity.

"Kaleigh, watch your mouth, you're in front of a child." I flipped my brother the finger. "She's only seven," He continued, "Don't express her to such profanity!" I rolled my eyes.

"Oh please. You go around all day saying the 'F' word in every other sentence, you use sexual references every time you talk about that hot girl in those movies you like, and expose everyone in this Flock to themes not even an adult should speak of. You are the meaning of- "

"Um… guys. I just came to tell you breakfast is ready." I snatched my diary out of Kyle's hands, and headed downstairs to the table where a very sleepy Flock sat. "Happy b-day you two Dmitri said. "We have toast, peanut butter and some organic, low-sugar strawberry jam. Yay."

"Don't forget pancakes and syrup. The best part though is no Dr.-" Jeremy stopped dead. "Dr. Guinar?" Guinar gave his sudden instant death stare. "So pancakes, toast, jam and peanut butter. Wow. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. So unhealthy. I call it sudden obesity on a platter. How about some cream of wheat and a glass of sugar-free orange juice? Hmm?Now that seems more like it."

Guinar looked to the counter and grabbed the toaster. "I guess we won't be seeing this for awhile. Using a mechanical cooking device without my permission. You could get hurt and we wouldn't want that to happen now would we?" He poured some instant cream of wheat into six different colored bowls. He put up water on the stove to boil. "When this is finished you know what to do. Pour it in and eat up. I spent all night working in the lab and I don't need your crap."

I noticed Guinar's eyes were red and his hair had strands of gray in them. Lately, that was the case. He was almost always working late in the lab and was obviously under a lot of stress. None of us would dare mention that out loud but I knew that we all noticed.

"Oh, I almost forgot, it's your birthday today, Kaleigh. I think there's a donut in the fridge. You can have it if you want. I'm going to sleep now. Stay out of trouble and don't leave the house."

Kyle scowled. "It's my birthday too, why don't I get a donut?" I smiled and grabbed the chocolate donut out of the fridge. "Oh silly me. I really should share." I handed a small piece to Leila, Roxy, Jeremy, and then Dmitri.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He then looked at his bowl of cream of wheat and dumped it into the sink. I gagged as I watched the clumps slowly creep down the side of the bowl.

"So, it's time for presents! Yay!" Leila cheered. "Oh yeah, ever since I turned 15 and got that part-time job at the coffee house, I have a little extra money." Roxy went upstairs to her bedroom and came back with a pile of presents.

"Kyle, I got you an mP3 player with video capability!" Kyle ripped the gift out of her hands and started to unwrap it. "You gave it to me in purple?" Roxy steeped back. "Well, that's all they had left…"

"Anyway," Jeremy started, "Dmitri, Leila, and I got you a charm bracelet, Kaleigh. Leila picked it out for you." I unwrapped the gift and opened the silver box. It was a pink, had heart and smiley face charms, and was obviously quite small for my wrist. "Oh thank you." I hugged Leila. "It's just what I wanted." Leila shyly smiled. "Really?" I nodded and Kyle tapped his foot impatiently.

"Oh, and I got you a voice-activated diary." Roxy handed me a purple and orange-striped notebook. "You just record your voice on it and from then on it can only be opened when you say the password in your voice." Oh yeah, that was exactly what I needed. How did she always know?

"So, what do you want to do today?" Roxy asked.

"Well maybe I can download songs onto my mP3 player. My purple mP3 player." Kyle headed upstairs to his room followed by Jeremy, Dmitri, and Leila. A tear rolled down Roxy's cheek, but I pretended not to notice. "Why doesn't he like it? I saved up so much for it!"

"Hey, Kyle may be an idiot but-" Roxy interrupted me. "_May_ be?" We both let out a quick laugh.

"But," I continued, "I love your present, as a matter of fact I'm going to record my voice right now… hey, do you remember where I put it?" Roxy picked up the empty bowls from breakfast. "Not under here."

A thundering racket of someone coming down the stairs reached the kitchen. It had to be Kyle. "Oh, looking for your diary. Here. You- uh dropped it." I looked at him cautiously. "Um thanks…" Kyle grinned. "Open it."

"It's locked."

"Oh darn it. I think I must've accidentally recorded my voice on. I'm so sorry." He chuckled. "So, wanna know the password?" I gave my brother a well-deserved kick in the shin. "Next time it won't be in the leg!"

"So, do you want to know you're password or not?"

"Sure. Why not you asshole? Why not?!"

"It's 'Kyle is awesome'." No way. No. I couldn't believe it. I well knew that my brother was jerk but still. I had to get away from him. I knew that I wasn't supposed to leave the house, but I felt if I didn't I might strangle my brother. If the people in this house wanted what was best for them, they wouln't tell Guina. Just to be safe, I slowly and carefully opening the door to Guinar's room, I heard the sounds of his snores. He wouldn't know if I escaped for a few hours.

I then headed to the library. Browsing through the memoire section I noticed the book, _Story of an Angel: Adventure to the Max. _It was the book I had heard of so many times. Yes it was the bestseller written by the Maximum Ride herself. In this tell-all book she brought light on the experiments of cruel genetic experiments and got the cops to really crack down on humane regulations. In fact, Dr. Guinar had no choice but to sell out his assistant, Dr. Holcombe a few months after Kyle and I were born to the police.

He held a brief trial and was sentenced to a fine and 25 years in prison. Dr. Guinar then agreed to "out of the goodness of his heart" take us into his home. He still has things planned, I'm sure of it but for now, things are okay.

In school my English teacher suggested I read the book because she thought that it would be one book that I could actually relate to. But I never got around to it. I guess now was my chance. I guess I could connect to a group of people just like my family. But their Flock is probably like a perfect family. I bet they all got along okay. I bet they stuck together no matter what. I sighed as I headed up to the checkout desk.

"Ah, this is the one by that other bird person. I'm shocked you didn't _own_ this book already." The librarian took my library card and scanned the book. So because I was a bird person I was supposed to be all connected to the "mutant bird people community" or something? Whatever.

I started home wallowing in self-pity along the way. My birthday had been ruined not once, but twice by Kyle. It was supposed to be my sweet 16 and so far it seemed pretty bitter to me. I opened the door and headed to my room. I had school the next day. Might as well head to bed early. I looked at the clock: 4:47. A little to early. Perhaps I could read that book I borrowed from the library.

I became engrossed in the book. At 6:00 Leila came into my room to tell me it was dinner time. "Hey, watcha reading?" I put down the book. "Oh just some book from the library. It's the one about Maximum ride and her flock." I let out a little laugh. "What?" Leila asked. "Oh nothing it's just that I can picture Gazzy saying that."

"What, saying what?" She implored. "Oh, I vill now destroy de Snickuhs bahs!" Leila looked at me. "Okayyy… Anywho dinner's ready. Come on." I walked down the stairs and headed to the table. Guinar gave me a disapproving look but said nothing. Had Kyle told him that I disobeyed him by leaving the house?

Guinar let a few things slide with me. Things that he wouldn't let Kyle or anyone else in the flock get away with. Don't get me wrong, Guinar was in no way, shape, or form kind or mentoring to me but I was obviously his favorite. I was his favorite and we all knew that. _There must be a reason_, I thought to myself.

"Hey, are you death or something? I asked you to pass the potatoes five times!" I passed the potatoes to Kyle trying carefully to avoid looking at him.

When dinner was finished I went upstairs and finished the book. It did give me a different persepective on how I saw myself and my Flock and did make me wonder about my future. I fell asleep eventually and when I woke up to get ready for school, the thoughts from the last night were still on my mind.


End file.
